Music
by Josef Cullinane 1702298 Genre and delivery The game’s music ties in very closely with the time and setting of the game. Much music featured would have strong ties to jazz, swing and ‘cafe orchestra’ music along with barbershop quartets, as these genres were both extremely popular during the ‘roaring 20s’ with singers such as Louis Armstrong and Cole Porter gaining great popularity in this era. While anachronistic, all cars in the game will feature a radio to make travel more interesting for the player. Diners and bars, be they of the temperance (alcohol-free) or speakeasy (illegal alcohol-serving) variety will contain a jukebox full of records, into which the player will be able to pay five cents - known as a nickel - to play a song of their choosing. This will act not only as an addition to the setting, but as additional player interaction and therefore immersion within the game world. Buskers, street bands and quartets outside of barber shops will be the main method of music delivery when walking outside; this will increase immersion due to environmental music not simply playing with there being nowhere it could be physically coming from. Contextualising genres The tone and genre of music will change depending on the scene, for example scenes focussing on the mob will feature Italian-style music reminiscent of films like The Godfather; this is inaccurate due to Al Capone being the main big Italian mobster (and subsequently the man from whom many stereotypes of the mafia find their roots) but this musical style is almost synonymous with the mafia, so it makes sense to include it as a blanket style for ease of player understanding and contextualising the specific scenes. One of the main characters, Helen, is a second-generation Mexican immigrant, so scenes beginning with her will often start with Hispanic style music on the radio or otherwise; this makes sense because many immigrants are often deeply in touch with their heritage, regardless of where they were born, and will choose the music of their ancestral homeland over what is local or popular in their present location. This is often very true of second generation immigrants as their parents want to raise their child in a nice location, but also want them to know their heritage well and be in tune with it. Use of music to change the tone While serious music can be used to set a serious tone in a scene and lighthearted music can be used to set a lighthearted tone in a scene, lighthearted music can be used to set a more serious tone than serious music ever could: for example, if a detective is beating a captured mobster in an interrogation room, the scene could have an even more serious tone if ‘Anything Goes’ by Cole Porter is played in the background than a more serious piece, depending on how it is done. Having the detective turn up the volume on a radio in the room to maximum, then cutting to outside the room and hearing that music with muffled shouts and strikes beneath it and seeing only the frosted silhouettes of the characters moving would have a more serious tone than just slapping some vaguely serious music over the top of the scene, as every action within that scene down to the music was set by the characters within the game, as well as showing that while the music of the time might be bright and cheery, the world itself certainly isn’t. It shows that for all the bright colours and whimsical tunes, it was an extremely troubled time and no quantity of gingham frocks and jazz trombones could change that. It also brings a whole new context to the meaning of ‘Anything Goes’, the title of the song used above, as it changes from anything going in regards to fashion trends and societal norms to a more ‘every man for himself’ feel. RELATED Brief Setting Story Characters Progression Mechanics